Jesus Shows Up Luke 24:44-49

Thank you. You know times while pastoring for

three decades now in various forms. I've run

into people who said that they had a temptation.

They had a difficulty. Something that would lure

them in a direction that they should not go.

That it was repetitive. That they had not defeated

the temptation. That they had experienced it

time and again. Mostly maybe while they were

alone or while they didn't have anything else

going on. While they weren't real busy. while

there wasn't another brother or sister in Christ

along with them, guiding them in the right direction.

And they said, at that time, I feel whatever.

What they actually feel varies, right? I feel

a variety of things. And then I turn to that

thing that tempts me because I lack, I need,

I want, I desire, I'm after something, I hurt,

I was wounded, whatever. I submit to you today,

there is a way that that's supposed to go. And

we're going to see it in the scripture today.

It's a relatively short passage of scripture,

but it's kind of exciting because not only is

it Jesus showing us the kind of character that

Jesus has, which if you'll recall, Christian

means little Christ. So if you know who Jesus

is, that's what you're supposed to try to be

like, right? And not only is it showing us who

Jesus is and how he handles that circumstance.

But on top of that, then, it shows us what our

life can actually be like in Christ if we have

recognized certain truths that he is making very

clear. So if you'll go with me in your Bibles

today, give me a little who to holler amen as

we go to Luke chapter 24. Thank you very much,

Luke 24 · chapter mention

those of you who participate in that little object

lesson. This is the Word of God. I'm going to

read it as it is written. I'm going to explain

it just a little bit as we go through, and then

I'm going to break it down. It's expository preaching

because we're going to expose what God says.

It's not really all that much about what I say

or even how I say it or how I make it clear.

It's really all about what God says. So in Luke

Luke 24 · chapter mention

chapter 24 and verse 44, we see a certain circumstance.

Now just to make sure you understand where we're

at in the story, this is after the death, burial,

and resurrection of Christ. They are reeling

now from his having appeared to them alive after

the fact. And he appears to them. In verse 36,

there's that little subtitle above that says,

Other Appearances. Now, while they were telling

these things, Jesus himself suddenly stood in

their midst and said to them, Peace be to you.

So he is right there all of a sudden. Verse 38

says, And he said to them, Why are you frightened?

And why are your doubts arising in your hearts?

See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.

Touch me and see, because the Spirit does not

have flesh and bones, as you plainly see that

I have. Then down in verse 42, they served him

a piece of broiled fish and he took it and ate

it in front of them. And now verse 44. Now he

said to them, these are my words which I spoke

to you while I was still with you. That all the

things that are written about me in the law of

Moses and the prophets and Psalms must be fulfilled.

Side note, I love that little phrasing there

that Jesus uses where he says the law of Moses

and the prophets and the Psalms. There's no question

about what the Old Testament Bible is. Pretty

clear there, right? What Jesus thought the Bible

was, was laid out right there for us. Verse 45,

then it says, then he opened their minds to understand

the scriptures. So before we go any further,

I want you to see that Jesus is making yet another

proof and evidence, something that will help

them to ascend to the fact that Jesus is resurrected.

In fact, that Jesus had to be crucified, that

this was the way that God was going to accomplish

this, right? So he's giving them yet another

understanding. Already a piece of broiled fish,

so clearly he is risen from the dead. They saw

him dead, now they see him alive, able to eat

in front of them, and so on. They see the wounds

still on him. And now he says, these words which

I spoke to you while I was still alive, that's

talking about the prophecies that he gave, that

he said, this is what's going to happen to me.

This is how it's going to unfold. He laid that

out clearly for them while he was still alive.

Three times he told them that he would be taken.

crucified, buried, and rise again on the third

day. And even then they struggled to believe

it. Before we accuse them, I think we might as

well. But then he goes on to say that all of

the things that he was talking about, all the

things that they had taught about, good morning,

all those things were laid out in the scriptures.

So now you've got, here is a man before you who

is seen dead, risen from the dead, still bearing

the scars of his crucifixion, eating, Food. So

he is not a spirit. He is a risen body. And then

he gives them the proofs that he told them three

times it would happen and it was laid out in

scripture all along that this is exactly how

it was going to go down. Now he opens their minds

to understand the scriptures. And he said to

them, so it is written that the Christ would

suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.

and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would

be proclaimed in his name to all the nations,

beginning from Jerusalem. Jesus makes it clear

that in Scripture, not only is it taught, and

you can go back and look at this in the Old Testament,

not only is the gospel clearly presented there,

that Jesus Christ, it doesn't say his name, but

Christ means the anointed one, the Messiah, that

the Messiah would come, he would live a sinless

life, he would die, he would be crucified, and

he would be buried. He would no longer have a

position on earth. And then he would rise from

the dead and take a position on the earth. You

can see it very clearly laid out all over the

Old Testament, and yet they were stuck on it.

They could not accept it when Jesus did it right

before them. Now Jesus points out to them, Clearly

in the Old Testament it's laid out. The gospel

is clearly laid out there. And notice that he

then says that it is proclaimed in the Old Testament

that in his name forgiveness of sins would be

proclaimed to all the nations beginning from

Jerusalem. And that is in the Old Testament.

So the Bible that they had clearly speaks to

this fact that the gospel as presented through

the Messiah would be laid out to the whole world.

Now that's quite a job. It's not going to be

done overnight, right? They didn't have the internet.

They didn't have CNN to... to cover it and blast

it all over the world. So there was a job entailed.

They always knew that the Jewish people would

have a job after the Messiah came, lived, died,

was buried, and resurrected. And Jesus now is

reminding them of those teachings. Verse 48,

we're almost done with the text. You are witnesses

of these things. So he says, you were there.

You saw it. You saw it unfolding. You saw me

teach you. You saw me explain to you. I taught

the scriptures to you while I was alive. Prophecy

to you three times about my death, burial, and

resurrection. You saw me crucified. You saw me

buried. You see me alive. Verse 49. And behold,

I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.

But you are to stay in the city until you are

clothed with power from on high. And we now know

in retrospect that he is pointing to the coming

of God's Holy Spirit. So three things I want

you to see in this text. and they're subdivided,

okay? And they're also alliterated. So those

of you who like that, like I could start with

A's, B's, and C's. I don't often do that, but

today it does. So the first point is access after

and always, all right? So I want you to see that

Jesus shows up in the room. They're there gathered

inside a closed room, and Jesus shows up in the

room. Nobody, no knock at the door, no walking

to the door. Jesus has access. I submit to you

that you need to understand that Jesus has always

had access. There are those theologians who believe

that they could point out a variety of places

in the Old Testament where Jesus actually showed

up. My favorite of those, by the way, is the

fourth man in the furnace. You know the story?

Many theologians believe that that may well have

been. In fact, Nebuchadnezzar says what about

the fourth man in the furnace? He looks like,

he kind of gives the appearance of a son of God.

Now whether that was Jesus or an angel representing

God, it doesn't matter. It demonstrates that

God has always had access to creation. And that

access has been all over the place. When Abraham

went into Egypt and he had Sarah with him and

he kind of lied about Sarah being his wife because

he was afraid they would kill him and try to

take her. And then so Pharaoh takes her into

his, what do you call it, his harem. Right. And

then he doesn't have sex with her. But then I

can say sex in a sermon. Right. Yeah, I think

I've done it before. OK, we're good. He doesn't

have sex. He doesn't have intimacy with her.

But his house is cursed and all the women become

barren. And then he finds out that Abraham lied

about her being a sister. Why did you do this

and send him and allow me this to happen? Right.

How could you let this happen that I could take

your wife into my harem and now my whole house

is suffering? And he asked God about it. And

God said, yeah, see, I know. I know that. But

I didn't allow you to sin against me by taking

it because that would have been the worst sin.

See, God has always had access. God has access

into the lives of believers and non -believers

alike. Don't kid yourself. Much of the trials

and difficulties that you faced when you were

a non -believer was the wrath of God. And much

of what the world is going through now because

of the actions and the things that people are

doing, that's the wrath of God. God has always

had access. There's never been anything that

ever restrained God from having access. You can

lock the door, but you can't keep God out. You

can shut the window, but you can't keep God out.

God has always had access and Jesus has always

had access. Notice that this is after what God

was pointing to has taken place. The death, burial,

and resurrection has now happened. So now this

access, he's got a purpose. He's up to something.

And it isn't anymore to point to the coming of

the Messiah who will be crucified. It isn't anymore

to point to the death, burial, and resurrection

of the Messiah. It isn't anymore to point to

a future time in which the people of God will

be responsible for delivering the gospel. But

rather it is now to herald the beginning of just

such a time. This is after the death, burial,

and resurrection and witnessed. God's access

to mankind has been testified to in a way that

cannot be denied. Paul would later say, and I'll

paraphrase, that... Prior to this time, God kind

of laughed at the foolishness of man and the

kind of the silly things that man did, not being

willing to accept that God was sovereign, not

being willing to accept the way that God would

make. But now that it has been disclosed to the

entire world, now that the entire world has seen

it clearly that Jesus Christ was crucified, now

men are expected to repent. Now the time had

come. This is after the death, burial, and resurrection

of Christ. This is after the prophecies have

been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. His access is

clear. Notice it's also always, all throughout

the Old Testament and the New, we see this idea

of Jesus being with man always. See, originally,

God walked with Adam and Eve in the coolness

of the garden. He was with them. He had access.

He showed up every day and they spent time with

him in person. But then there was sin. And much

sin. And it eventually got to be so bad that

God was done. It grieved God that he had made

man. And so God decided to wipe it all out and

start over again, but he kept one man and his

wife and his sons and their wives. You know the

story. But do you remember who it was that shut

the door of the ark? It was God. God shut the

door. It wasn't Noah. He didn't reach up and

grab the toggle and pull it down shut and bar

it. God shut the door of the ark. See, God has

always had access. God has always had access.

And Jesus now comes after everyone in that room

that realizes that God has access to humanity.

And now he says, I will always be with you. In

the Great Commission, we hear, Go ye therefore,

and it ends with, and I will be with you always,

even unto the end of the age. Always. You realize

that the Bible says, Jesus speaking, Revelation

3, Behold, I stand at your heart's door and knock,

and he who opens the door. Just a curious question.

Where is your heart's door? Well, presumably

your heart's door is in you. And if God stands

at every man's heart's door and knocks, if Jesus

is standing at the door of your heart and knocking,

He's already in. He may be away from your heart,

your core, your decision making, but Jesus is

already having access to every human being to

be able to be knocking at their heart's door.

It also says in John 16, it says, And he, Jesus

is speaking of the Holy Spirit, he says, and

he, when he comes, will convict the world concerning

sin and righteousness and judgment. Concerning

sin, because they do not believe in me. And concerning

righteousness, because I go to the Father and

you no longer see me. And concerning judgment,

because the ruler of this world has been judged.

Go back to the beginning of those three verses,

it says this, four verses, it says this, and

he, when he comes, will convict the world concerning

sin and righteousness and judgment. Always. The

Holy Spirit has come and I want you to understand

if you're talking with someone and they are denying

the existence of God, they're denying the existence

of the risen Christ, they're denying the crucifixion

as payment for sins and the resurrection as proof

of eternal life with God forever, then you understand

they are under conviction. You claim the promise

for them. Let them deny it, but understand that

they are under conviction. And all you have to

do is find a way to move beyond the barriers.

And help them to understand that they are facing

conviction. That in their heart, they know what

it is that God wants from them. And that all

that they have set up to say that God is never

instead of always, to say that God does not have

access, to say that the Christ has not come,

lived a sinless life, died, was buried, and rose

again. That Jesus is no one or nothing. All that

they have done to set that up cannot stop the

fact that the Holy Spirit, since he has come,

has always convicted men, all men, all women,

all human beings who are old enough to understand

what's going on, of their sin. For all the efforts

of the enemy, there will never come a time again

when people are left wondering, how will God

do it? Because he's already done it. But ignore

someone and it's like, They're not even there.

And you can even come to convince yourself that

you're not there. I was sitting on the couch

in my living room, and the TV was on, and a program

was playing that, frankly, I don't even really

like. It wasn't for me. It was for somebody else

in the room. They were watching, and I was actually

reading my Bible on the couch. I had it in my

hands, reading my Bible. And then I found myself

watching the program. There was a particular

scene that caught my attention. And right about

that same time, Ariana came into the room and

she started to tell me a story of what had happened

to her. It was important to her. I was there

with her at the beginning of the story. I knew

that she was telling me the story, but my mind

was on the TV. So in this very one room was Ariana.

To this day, I still do not know the story that

she told me in that moment because my presence

was absent. I was focused on the screen, not

listening to my child tell me a story that was

important to her. It is as if she wasn't even

there because I don't know what she said. But

worse, it's as if I wasn't even there because

I don't know what she said. Worse than that,

while that was going on and that was going on

and I was missing both of those, my Bible was

open in my hand. And while I watched the TV,

I learned nothing, heard nothing from God, witnessed

nothing, participated in no way with the God

of the universe, though He was ready for me,

having access, having already done everything

that was needed, being always with me, I was

not ready for him. I was not present. I submit

to you that this is the very thing that is going

on in the world. We think that social media is

about money. That TV is about money. Or at best,

we think it's about entertainment. But I submit

to you that those tactics of the devil are far

more developed than that. What they're actually

about is filling dead air. They're filling every

moment of every presence of every person across

the world with something. When millions and millions,

tens of millions or a billion people tune in

to watch some kind of program, this you can know

if they are engrossed in that program. Here's

what they're not doing. Spending time with the

Lord. If you ignore someone, it's like they are

not even there. That's what TVs are about. That's

what phones are about. And that's what personal

agendas are about. We're after money, after jobs,

after promotion, after resources, after whatever.

And we get focused on that one thing and we forget

that God is a just and time deliverer. That God

is present and active in our circumstances. That

he has access. That it is after he has already

done everything that is necessary for him to

do. And that he is always with us. And then on

to the second point. It is behold, believe, and

be blessed. This could be said to be the thing

that Jesus was about that day. That's why he

came into the room, I think. He said, behold,

look here. See? See me eat? See the word? Recall

as I prophesied to you? Behold. See? The evidence

is all there. For this reason, when men spend

time in creation, they are without excuse. Because

everything that is necessary for man to see about

God is displayed beautifully. Even in the middle

of suffering. But displayed beautifully in creation.

Behold! And believe. Jesus wanted them to actually

invest themselves. See, somewhere along the lines,

I always say it probably happened during the

Enlightenment, but I don't really know when it

was. I guess you could probably do a whole bunch

of research and talk to some scholars to figure

it out. But somewhere along the lines, people

started thinking that to believe something was

to think it was true. That's not even, that's

just to think it's true, right? You ascend to

a certain idea, like, ah, I think, yeah, I think

that's probably right. I think they probably

will win the Super Bowl. I think they probably

will. I think we probably will play softball

this year. To believe changes you from the inside

out. And that's what Jesus was looking for. He

wanted them to accept the truth about what had

happened and let that truth be more than an accepted

idea. Jesus came that they might behold. Listen,

they knew he had died. They were there. And he

said that. You were there. You're witnesses of

this. They had beheld it. But now they needed

to take what they had beheld. And this is the

same for you or for I. We must take what we have

beheld and apply it daily in our lives. You come

here and you hear preaching or you study time,

you sit in your backyard or at a restaurant or

wherever you read the Bible, you have to behold

what's there. And then if you have a belief in

Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you have to

take that thing, what's there, what you discovered,

the new verse, the new phrase, the new application,

whatever it is that God's trying to do. And do

it! It becomes who you are. It's not our job

to go, oh, I think that's probably true, and

then walk away and do nothing. If you think it's

probably true, most of the time in your life,

you do something about it. You don't bet on the

losing team unless you're betting on them to

lose. You probably shouldn't be betting at all.

You don't go to the store and buy all the foods

you know your wife hates. You think that she

would like, you think that he would like, and

you buy accordingly. We act that way all the

time. But when it comes to Jesus, we go, yeah,

I think that's probably true. I think I'm going

to go to work. I'm going to go to play. I'm going

to buy stuff. I'm going to eat. I'm going to

enjoy. I'm going to eat a little too much, maybe.

Sleep a little too much, maybe. I read my Bible.

I'll get around to that. If you think it's probably

true, you should do something about it. But that

isn't even what Jesus is asking for. If you have

beheld it, if you know that it's true, then let

it affect you from the core of your being. Let

it rewrite your DNA. Indeed, God says that we

have become as children of God, adopted into

his family. That's different. That's not like

becoming a member of the Elks. That's not like

deciding to work out for 100 days and at the

end going, look, I'm ripped. That's an instant

translation of a family bloodline where the God

of the universe brings you in. If you have beheld,

believe and let it affect you. And when that

happens, then be blessed. Realize that he is

at work. Trust him and accept his plan for your

life even when you don't completely know what

it is. I jump a little bit ahead there to the

C's. But I'm going to tell you a story real quick.

When I was at Liberty University back in the

day doing seminary, I was on campus, and David

Wheeler, who used to be the evangelism director

for the Southern Baptist Convention in the state

of Ohio, and actually he was the one who had

built, organized our block party wagon that the

church still owns, that we do the block parties

out of. He's the guy who set those up. Anyway,

he later became a teacher at Liberty and I went

down there and he impressed upon me how it is

the duty of Christians to witness and talk about

Jesus. And he said, that's kind of funny that

he did that. Should he have had to do that? I

was a Christian about 12, 15 years by that time.

Probably not. But I became very convinced, convicted,

if you will, that we needed to do that. So then

the next semester I was at Great Lakes because

I was getting a degree from both places, getting

all my credits in from both places. I left one

of my classes. They let us out early. It was

supposed to be three hours. And I had an appointment

after class. So I had about an hour and a half

to just kill. It was a three -hour class, like

an hour and a half, get a break. And then he's

like, well, we're not coming back after the break.

So I had like an hour and a half to kill. And

then I had a meeting that I had to go to. So

I didn't have a choice. I couldn't drive to Perrysburg,

the 126 miles, and then go to the meeting. So

I was still there. So I thought, well, I'm going

to go get something to eat. And I went out of

the parking lot, and as I go out of the parking

lot, the Lord told me to turn right. Well, all

the food is to the left. I'm like, okay. I figured

I was going around the block the long way for

some reason. You know, God knows. And I get down

to the corner and pull up the stop sign. God

says, turn left. Okay, now I'm going out into

middle Michigan. There is nothing in there. There's

like little towns. That's it. And so I'm driving

into country and I'm thinking, well, then my

fuel light comes on. I'm like, now I need gas.

I'm nowhere. There's no gas stations. There's

no food. What on earth are we doing, God? So

I pull through this little town. So there's a

sign that says pizza. I'm like, well, that's

food. So I pulled over. I go in. I order pizza.

She says, well, it's going to be about 12 to

15 minutes. I'm like, let's see. Pizza, where

I come from, is like eight to nine minutes. But

okay, fine. So then I thought, well, while I'm

waiting the 12 to 15 minutes, I'll run down to

that gas station. I saw them buy gas. So I go

down to the gas station. And as I get to pizza

and I go into the gas station, God's going, yeah,

you got this. You're doing a good job. I'm getting

these little pats on the back. Like, yeah, do

this. This is right. So I go to the gas station

and I go to pull up and I go to put my credit

card in the pump, except the card reader says

it's non -operational. Got to come inside to

pay. And I'm like. I got a meeting in less than

an hour. I mean, gosh, okay, fine. So I go in

to pay, and there's a cashier there. She's got

a bunch of tattoos. She's got her hair back.

I can kind of see her to this day. And I go up

to the counter, and I grabbed a drink because

I didn't want to pay the prices at the little

pizza place. It was a ridiculous price. So I

grabbed a drink, and I go up to the counter,

and I'm going to pay for that. I'm going to order

my gas. I pay with my credit card. And the Lord

says, talk about me. Talk about Jesus. And immediately

I became afraid. Now, don't look at me like that.

Because you've probably done it too, right? Now,

why? Why would I be afraid? What's she going

to do? Like, I'm at the gas station. I'm talking

about you. She's like, get out of here! Beats

me with a picket sign. She's going to throw stones

at me. She's going to shoot me with a gun. She's

on the job. She's getting paid to be there. She's

got to be polite, right? So what could possibly

go wrong? And I'm afraid. I'm afraid to start

talking about Jesus. I pay for the gas. I pay

for the drink that I got. I think it was a soda.

No, it wasn't. No, it was after I gave up soda.

So I paid for my drink. It was a lemonade or

something. Walk out to the car, and I pump the

gas. The guy comes in. He goes in there. He talks

with her briefly. Then he comes out, and I look

up, and I'm done pumping my gas, and I'm still

feeling convicted like I'm supposed to talk about

Jesus, but I'm feeling a little better because

I'm further away from it. You know what I'm saying?

Like it's not so hot right now. and I look in

my car, and there's a track in there, and it's

got the steps to becoming a Christian in it and

like that, and I'm like, well, I'll just slip

the track on the counter and say, here, read

this when you get time, and then I'll run away,

right, because that's good enough. At least I'll

have done what God said do a little bit. So I

grab the track, and I'm walking in, and as I'm

walking in there, I'm like, if I walk in there,

I just know God is going to make me talk to this

woman about Jesus. And at some point in time,

you've just got to stop saying no to God, right?

I mean, you can't keep saying no constantly because

it really feels very uncomfortable. So I walk

into the counter, and I have a track in my hand,

and I'm just about to turn around and go back

out without saying anything. She turns around

and says, what's that? And I spewed Jesus all

over her, just like I vomited everything I had

been holding in my chest. And I told her all

about Jesus. And she said, well, I was saved

and baptized when I was 12, but I haven't had

anything to do with any since then. And she said,

and I often think that was the worst decision

I ever made was not walking with Jesus. And I

said, well, what are you doing? I said, Jesus

is awesome. You know, and she said, well, I just

don't have anybody to go to church with. I said,

nobody. So there's nobody in your life that you

could go to? Well, I had a roommate. She used

to talk about Jesus, but she never invited me

to go to church, but she lives across town now.

I could probably go to church with her. And I

said, do you have her number? And she said, yes.

No one has come in. We've been talking now for

20 minutes. No one has come in this door. I said,

call her right now and tell her you'll go to

church with her on Sunday. Now that's pretty

bold. So she pulls out her cell phone. And she

calls her, and she says, I'm standing here with

this guy. She might have said my name because

I gave it to her. I don't remember. And she said,

I want to go to church on Sunday. Can I go with

you? And the girl on the phone is like so excited,

and she's crying, and she's happy, and she's

like, yes, yes, absolutely, yes. I'll even pick

you up if you want. She said, no, no, you don't

have to pick me up. And anyway, so then she hangs

up, and she's crying. The girl on the phone was

crying, and I'm crying. You know me. I'm crying.

And I said, well, I'm sure glad I said something.

And she said, I'm so glad you said something

too. She said, thank you so much. And I got her

phone number and she got my phone number. And

I said, I don't live anywhere near here. I said,

I'm going home. I go to school down in Lansing,

but I'm going back to Parishburg after my meeting

tonight. And I won't be back up until I think

Monday was my next class. And I said, so I'm

going to call you Sunday and see how it went.

Jesus came that they might behold, that they

might believe, and that they might be blessed.

The next time that you're afraid or you think

that you're alone and he's not there, you just

got to call whoever that is that's giving you

that idea a liar and believe the truth. That's

what you got to do. That brings us to the C's.

Complete conviction and confirmation. Now, I

love confirmation. Because a lot of times I'm

doing stuff all by myself. I feel like just me

and Jesus, we're just doing stuff. And then my

wife will step in and say, why don't we do this?

And it's the same thing that I'm thinking, right?

Or that I've been doing. I'm like, well, yeah,

I started on that a couple hours ago. Or I get

here and I'm like, I wrote my sermon and I'm

like, oh, I really think this way. I'm almost

sure. And then we sing the songs and the songs

are like hammering my sermon points home, like

one after another, like they're nails in a coffin.

I'm going, yeah, this is the right sermon. I

have today. It's complete because it's done.

Listen, I see you and you see me. I'm an ordinary

guy that God's using to do this. Before I got

saved, there's no way I could have preached at

all. Many of you are doing things that you would

say, and I know some of them, that you would

say, if it wasn't for God, the opportunity would

not be here. I could not do it. I cannot do it.

This is not me. I'm trusting completely in the

Lord. God has paid the bill. Your sins in Christ

are washed away. Now you say, but I still screw

up. Well, yeah, you're still human. Don't do

it on purpose. Fix it every opportunity you possibly

can. Repent and turn to the Lord whenever you're

in the process. And confess, be open and honest

with God. He is faithful and just. And he will

heal you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness

time and again as is necessary. Why? Because

it's done. The last words they saw Jesus speak

before he died on the cross. It is finished.

and I submit to you the same message of this

meeting, it's done. It's done. So when I'm standing

at the counter and I'm fearful that the lady

may or may not want to hear what I have to say

or if I should even speak up, I've got to remember,

it's done. It's done. She already has conviction

in her heart for her sin. If she's not saved,

if she is saved, she's got the Holy Spirit nagging

at her all the time that she's supposed to be

doing the right thing. Which one of those things

leads to me being afraid? Neither one. If I'm

afraid, it's because I'm not believing. Or if

I'm afraid and I overcome my fear, what they

call that courage, it's because I'm believing.

It's complete. It provides conviction. The teachings

of Jesus Christ, man, they sink deep. They hit

hard. They don't come to you like, oh, that's

flowery and fun. That must be for somebody else.

Every time I read my Bible and I discover something,

an application of a text, I go, now what? Where's

this going to go? What is God going to do? Okay,

God, whatever you say, I'm in. I'm with you.

I don't fully understand how we're going to apply

this or how I'm going to give that up or do that

or go be that, but I'm willing because that's

what you say. If you say it, it's good. They

cut deep. It's conviction. It's not just about

I think I believe because we act on I think I

believe. But it's about belief, which transforms

who we are. And then when you start doing it,

you're like convicted from the inside. Now I'll

never, you know, I can honestly say standing

before you, and I never had this plan, that there

are, for example, I'll probably, in my lifetime,

it's highly likely I'll never eat another piece

of candy. And I'm not saying you have to do that.

There's nothing simple about eating candy. But

because God told me to give it up, I gave it

up. Now it's been going on 25 years since I had

a piece of candy. And that's not even listed

in the Bible, right? I'm wearing this jacket

with this. Funny shirt. You see like this combo

today? Because God picked it out. God has access.

He will always be with you. He believes in you

even when you don't believe in yourself. Believes

that you are worthy to be adopted as a child

of God into His family. It's time we started

developing some convictions and standing up for

what we believe in. If you're ever wondering,

You should have the Holy Spirit, God's Holy Spirit

inside you testifying with your spirit that you're

saved, telling you that you are now an eternal

being and adopted as a child of God, part of

the kingdom of God, doing kingdom of God things

because the king says so. And if you don't have

that, then get saved today. Because the Bible

says the Holy Spirit does that. He shows up and

testifies with our spirit to whom we belong.

The world is trying to convince you that you

need something more. A promotion. A degree. Better

grades. Better relationships. Someone to say

something to you to make you feel a certain sort

of way. Someone to be with you. And all of it

is a lie. Because it's done. It's complete. And

when you are convicted that it's complete, you

will have absolute confirmation. Because you

have seen with your own eyes. Because you have

believed. Because He is with you. And you have

conviction that runs deep. I'll take pedigree,

that means like your DNA, if you will, over degree

any day. I'll take transformation of my being

into something that will honor God over comfort

for me any day. I'll take kingdom values over

cash payments any day. I'll take souls over accolades

any day. I'll take his presence over any other

concern any day. And before you think that that's

not what's at stake, you need to realize that's

exactly what's at stake. Because Jesus said,

if you hold on to your life, you surely will

lose it. But if you'll give it for me, you surely

have it. Quick recap and then the conclusion.

The A's were access, after, and always. And amazingly,

as I'm saying those words right now, access,

after, and always. You know what they mean in

the context of this passage of Scripture. And

behold, believe and be blessed. And you know

what they mean in the context of this scripture.

Complete conviction and confirmation. And you

know what they mean in the context of this scripture.

I love it when I read a scripture and I see Jesus

doing something and I go, you know what? That's

something I can do. Don't you love that? Like

a lot of times, I would love to walk on water,

multiply food. heal lepers. All of those things

would be great. I know they're not intended for

me, but they would all be great, right? And so

you see so many things that Jesus does that we

can't do. Like, you're just not, I mean, he could

do them through us, possibly, if he chooses to,

right? But here's one. Jesus, Jesus shows up.

In fact, it is the chief thing that Jesus does.

More than water into wine or walking on water

or calming storms, Jesus shows up. This is what

we should be doing as well. Because we know everything

that is necessary for salvation has already been

accomplished, complete conviction and confirmation.

We can show up. We can let go of fear. We can

be present in the moment. We can be the body

of Christ doing whatever it is that God has for

us to do, showing up. Give the world a reason

to behold, believe, and be blessed. Show up.

You have access. This is what's amazing. You

have friends and family members and coworkers

and fellow students. You have people that live

on your block. You have people that live on your

block that you don't even know. I know that because

statistically 99 % of Americans do not know.

even half of their neighbors that live within

five houses of them. You have people that live,

you have access. You go walk over to their house,

you knock on their door and they say, well, who

are you? What are you doing? I'm your neighbor

from three doors down. I came to meet you because

we've been living here for X years and we don't

even know you. You have access. They're not going

to go, get out of here. I don't know you. You're

a perfect stranger. They're going to go, oh,

you're my neighbor from three doors down. You

have access. The students in your school, they

look at you. They dress funny. They think you

dress funny. Everybody's looking at each other.

Everybody's all worried about who's looking at

them, right? That's what school's about. Take

your eyes off the fellow students and put them

on Jesus. What is Jesus doing? Jesus is convicting

some. He's walking with some. He's Lord of all,

whether or not they realize it. You have access.

Now, could someone that you have access to actually

do something to you? Could it result in some

discomfort in this lifetime? Well, absolutely.

They may hate you for using your access to them

to say what truly needs to be said while they

are busy fighting the conviction of the Holy

Spirit inside them. They think the last thing

I need is somebody coming along and telling me

what I already know. Now, they may not say it

that way. They might hate you. And Jesus said,

don't be surprised. They hated me first. Give

the world a reason to behold, believe, and be

blessed. Show up. You have access. You live after.

And you're offering nothing less than always.

Maybe you're here today and you don't have always.

Like I see Jesus showed up. I see that the primary

trait of Jesus was that he showed up. But I don't

have always. I don't feel saved. The Holy Spirit's

not in me, not testifying to me that I'm saved.

I don't know what I know and what I don't know.

Jesus said, behold, before he ever came, there

were hundreds, hundreds of fulfilled prophecies,

prophecies that were fulfilled in him. The odds

of that are astronomical. You'd be more likely

to be struck by a tiny piece of dust moving a

billion miles per hour that came from all the

way across the galaxy to kill you instantly than

you would to be able to fulfill those prophecies.

Jesus' prophecy. Behold. Believe. Are you here

today and you have not accepted Jesus Christ

as your Lord and Savior? Do it now. It's real.

He shows up. He showed up here today. He is here

right now. Maybe you're here today and you say,

I am a Christian. I know it. I feel the testimony

of the Holy Spirit in my heart. I know I'm a

Christian. I know it for a fact. But also, I

also know that when it comes to me and Jesus

alone in the dark, and when it comes to me and

Jesus should be alone in the dark, I'm thinking

about I've got this problem, I've got that problem,

I'm tempted in this way or that way. And instead

of turning to Jesus, I turn to the things of

this world to placate the needs of my flesh.

Let me tell you this for sure. If you stop doing

that, Jesus shows up. You turn to Jesus. The

next time you feel like you need something to

sustain you, you turn to Jesus. Everything else

that might sustain you will run out at some point.

So even if you could get by for a while with

a medication or another person or a relationship

or a job or money, eventually it will run out.

Choose Jesus. He shows up. And then as we become

part of the family of God, let us show up. Let's

show up. Let's give the world a reason to behold,

believe, and be blessed. You live after. And

you offer nothing less than always. I ask the

praise team to come forward and do this in our

closing hymn today. And as we sing this song,

if the Lord has laid something on your heart

today, if you're accepting Jesus Christ your

Lord and Savior, if you're baptized, if you need

a new church home, whatever it might be, you

come. You come right down here and say, actually,

I know this is what God wants for me today. Give

us the PowerPoint slide. Just before you turn

it off, send a message back and we'll be praying

for her and then turn it off. Okay, would you

stand with me then and we're going to sing this

song. If the Lord is moving your heart, you respond

to him. Not about me, not about anybody else

in the room. Listen to the Lord and do as he

would have you do. That thou bidst me come to

thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Lord, speak

into your heart. Even as we're singing, you're

coming. You don't have to stand there and sing.

That would be a distraction. The Lord is good

in your heart. He made you respond.